


Welcome to the Family

by lovelyroses



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Victor has two moms, mention of past drug use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2020-06-26 20:25:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19775764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelyroses/pseuds/lovelyroses
Summary: Victor and Yuri have everything- a nice apartment, successful careers, and, of course, each other. But they soon realize they want to have a child in their lives.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, the first part of this takes place in around February 2017. And because the adoption process takes quite a while, it ends in, like, December 2017. I'm just putting this here so you get a sense of the timeline.

Victor and Yuuri sat at the kitchen table, exhausted from practice. They'd both trained extra hard that day. Victor was the first to start the conversation. "So, Yuuri, about what we talked about earlier today....."

An exhausted Yuuri tried to remember what it was they'd talked about that day. "About having a kid?"

Victor nodded. They'd had multiple discussions about this, but until today, they hadn't really discussed how they would go about it. One option that had gotten thrown out there that morning was having Mari carry their child (with Victor being the donor), which Yuuri _forcefully_ vetoed. Then he suggested adopting. But the question still remained: from where?

"So I was on the phone with my mother a few minutes ago, and..."

"Viviana or Alexandra?"

"Viviana. Anyways, she told me there was an orphanage we could visit. She did a rotation there in nursing school, so she knows it very well."

This piqued Yuuri's interest. They were finally doing this for real! "Where is it?"

Victor groaned. "Tver."

Yuuri, not being 100% sure where that was, looked it up on his phone and gasped. _6_ _-hour drive? Really?_ "Yeah, maybe when we have all day."

"Well, I have tomorrow _and_ the day after that off."

"Wait, you do?"

Victor nodded. "Yeah, Yakov said that, remember?"

"Oh, right," said Yuuri. He _had_ had a nasty cough the past two days. "So... road trip tomorrow?"

"I _guess_." Victor sighed loudly. "Well, I'm not looking forward to the drive, but I'm sure it'll be worth it!"

"It better be."

Victor laughed. His fiance was so cute when he was grumpy. "Well, I'm going to start on dinner. And we should get up a little bit early tomorrow if we want to get there at a reasonable time." 

So the next morning at seven, after packing the car with plenty of food to last them the whole trip, they set out for the orphanage. They'd agreed the previous night that they would take turns driving. For now, Yuuri drove first, and Victor would pass him food or water when he wanted it.

He marvelled at the landscape rushing past him. He hadn't seen this much of Russia before! The most he'd seen was St. Petersburg and Moscow. A bustling, modern city gave way to multiple tiny towns. When they passed by the town of Volkhov, Victor said in between bites of oatmeal from a thermos, "That's where Mama Sasha's family is from."

Yuuri knew that Victor and his sisters called Alexandra "Mama Sasha" and Viviana "Mama Vivi". "Really?"

"Yeah, when we were little, we'd visit our aunt there every summer."

Because it was overcast, the place looked bleak and sad. The river was gray. But maybe in the summer, it was warmer and more inviting. There were more towns just like this one. Finally, at a filling station in between towns, they decided to switch seats. So Victor took his place in the driver's seat and said, " _Finally._ You drive like a madman."

"And _you_ drive like an old lady, Victor."

"Whatever. At least I don't speed."

"And at least _I_ get to places on time."

The remainder of the drive took a bit longer, as Victor _did_ drive like an old lady, but they passed the time with a combination of the radio and different songs and games, like "I Spy" (Yuuri was great at this game; Victor, not so) and "Punch Buggy" (Victor loved this; Yuuri, not so much). Finally, at the thirteenth bottle of beer on the wall, he turned the corner onto the street where the orphanage was. "Well, we're here."

Yuuri looked at the building. It was just a regular old brick building that could use a few repairs in some places, in his opinion. They went in and spoke to the lady who ran the orphanage, Sofia Alexandrovna Dumina (well, Victor did most of the talking). "We were thinking of adopting, and we wanted to have a look around first."

"Well, the children are at lunch right now. But I can take you into the dining room."

So they were led into a dining hall, where the children were seated. There was lots of noisy chatter, as is typical of young children. The older ones were quieter, but they talked amongst themselves while they ate. Two girls, who looked about twelve or thirteen, paused their conversation to stare at the two visitors. One of the little girls caught Yuuri's eye. Her hair was a brownish blonde and in a ponytail, and her eyes were wide open. He smiled and waved, but she didn't wave back. "Sofia Alexandrovna, what is her name?"

"Irina Ivanovna Fedorova. She's four years old."

"How long has she been here?"

"Only a few months."

Once they were done looking around the orphanage, Sofia Alexandrovna told them (in English, because Yuuri was less than fluent in Russian) what they would need to do if they wanted to go through with adopting. "First, you'll need to file an application with an adoption agency. It may take a while for them to approve your application. And once that's done, you'll need to prepare a dossier and take some parenting classes. Then you'll get matched with a child, and you'll go and see them and decide if you want to proceed with the adoption."

"Thank you, Sofia Alexandrovna," said Victor.

"How long does it take?" asked Yuuri.

"Anywhere between six and eighteen months."

He gulped. It sounded like it involved an awful lot of paperwork and red tape. _Well, what did you expect? Kids require a lot, and they want to make extra sure you'll be at least a decent parent._

The lady smiled a bit. "I noticed you were looking at Irina. Lovely girl, isn't she?"

"Well, yes, but...."

"I know a lot of families want toddlers. And I wouldn't blame you if you did. But there are a lot of kids who don't get homes because they're too old, or too much trauma, or what have you. It's sad, really, but I can't do anything about it. And Irina? I know I shouldn't say it, but she's probably not going to have a home. She's been through a lot. Her parents were.... how do you call it..." She paused, trying to find the correct expression. "....methamphetamine addicted, and when she was just three, they left her in house alone and never came back. She was brought here from an orphanage in some town in Nizhny Novgorod, the region where she's from, because they 'couldn't handle her'. She cries a lot, she has nightmares, and sometimes, she'll have fits where she just stares into space." She sighed. "She's a little girl. And that's quite a lot for someone her age to experience."

Yuuri nodded. _Wow._ No wonder Irina had looked so distraught. "Really, thank you so much..... Sofia Alexandrovna." He still found the Russian formalities a bit strange.

"No problem." She smiled a bit. "And I hope I'll be seeing you back at some point."

In the car, Victor asked, "What did you think?"

"Well, Mrs..... Sofia Alexandrovna seems nice."

"Yes, those children really do have a special place in her heart."

Yuuri scratched the back of his neck. "There was a little girl who I saw at the lunch table, and she just.... I don't know, she just caught my eye. And after hearing about how she got there, I feel like... like we could be her only chance at having a family."

"Hm," said Victor. "Yes, my mother did tell me that she'd see the same kids, year after year. And by the time they're eight, they think there's something wrong with them, and that that's why they don't have a family. But of course, that's not true."

When they got home that evening, as they were preparing dinner, the phone rang. Yuuri picked it up. "Hello, Yuuri Katsuki speaking."

"Yuuri! Hello! This is Viviana! How are you? It has been much too long since we spoke!"

Ah, yes. Viviana and her characteristic ebullience. "Yes, it really has. And I'm good, thank you. What about you?"

"Good, good. And you visited the orphanage today, correct?"

"Yes, we did."

"What did you think?"

"Sofia Alexandrovna is very sweet, and the children are adorable, I'm sure you know. And it just seems like a nice place."

"Yes, it is. So do you think you would adopt from there?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's great!" She paused. "I recommended it to you because it's for children three and older, and most don't find family like babies do, so I'm glad you at least consider it."

"I understand."

"Well, can I speak to my Vitenka?"

Yuuri chuckled a little. He thought it was cute that his mother-in-law still called her grown adult son Vitenka. "Yeah, I'll get him on the phone for you." Then he called over his shoulder. "Victor, it's Viviana!"

So Victor and his mother talked on the phone for a bit. Yuuri could understand less than half of what he was saying, because he was talking quite fast in Russian. Finally, he handed the phone back to Yuuri. "I'm so excited for you!" squealed Viviana.

"I'm excited, too," said Yuuri.

"I'll be a grandmother! And you'll be a father!"

"Well, not yet. It's a long process."

"I know. But I think I ought to give you some advice now: buckle up. Parenting is hard, but it's worth it."

Once he got off the phone with Viviana, he thought about this. In several months' time, he'd be a _father._ He couldn't believe it. It would be a lot of responsibility, to be in charge of such a small life. Would he be able to handle it? That was something he'd always worried about when he and Victor discussed kids. That he'd suck as a dad. _I guess we'll just have to see,_ he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

The next step in the process was the application, which seemed easy enough. It was simply a matter of filling out information: who they were, where they lived, their respective levels of education (Yuuri had a college degree, Victor did not), what their jobs were, and their financial and insurance information. Then they mailed it and awaited a response.

Meanwhile, their relatives had all heard the news and were elated. For both Yuuri's and Victor's parents, it would be the first grandchild. Even Mari, usually cool and detached, was excited about being an aunt. She never said it, but she loved babies. She was old enough to remember when her little brother was born, and she'd always ask to hold him.

Then there was a home study. The woman who conducted it was very stiff and polite, speaking to them in very flowery, formal Russian. But right before she left, after they'd shown her around their apartment and answered her questions, she offered a small smile. "The agency will contact you as soon as they see fit. You two have a lovely home."

Evenings were spent filling out papers, signing documents. And on the weekends (when they weren't training, that is), they'd attend parenting classes. To Yuuri, it all seemed like a bombardment of new information, and he found it quite overwhelming. But eventually, he started to ease into the swing of things. _Hey, maybe this whole parenting thing won't be so bad after all._ All of this was done in preparation of "the call", which they received about seven months into the process. It was Victor who picked it up. "We've looked through your paperwork, and based on that, we've matched you with a child."

"Oh!" He could hardly contain his excitement. "When can we meet them?"

The man on the other end cleared his throat. "Well, first, you will need to look at the child's paperwork. We just mailed it to you, so it should arrive in three days. Then we can arrange things with Sofia Alexandrovna, and she'll set up a meeting."

"Wonderful. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Once off the phone, Victor let out an excited squeal. Then he raced out to the living room, where Yuuri was curled on the couch, reading his book. "Yuuri! I have exciting news!"

He looked up from his book and rubbed his eyes. "What is it?"

"The agency called. We got matched with a child!"

Yuuri's eyes lit up. "Really? When will we meet them?"

"Well, first, they're going to mail the kid's paperwork, and then Sofia Alexandrovna will set up the meeting. I can't wait!"

"Me neither, Victor." The moment he'd been waiting for was closer than ever. _We're going to have a child. I'll be a father._ He went over that in his mind for a bit, hardly being able to believe it.


	3. Chapter 3

After three days, the child's file came in the mail. Yuuri sliced open the envelope with a pair of scissors and pulled out one of the documents. It stated the child's name, sex, date of birth, physical description, and place of residence. This child was a four-year-old girl (soon to be five) with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her name was Irina Ivanovna Fedorova. Wait a minute.... that girl he and Victor saw at the dining table that afternoon. The one who looked scared.

That night, he and Victor looked over the contents of the envelope, and after some discussion, they agreed that they would go through with adopting Irina. So the next morning, Victor called the agency, and they agreed to set things up with Mrs. Dumina. Now there was just more waiting.

Finally, in October, the agency called them back, saying a visit had been arranged. "Sofia Alexandrovna would prefer if you came in the morning, when everything's a bit less chaotic."

"Oh, of course, I understand," said Yuuri. "May I ask what date?"

"October 25."

 _So, next week_. They'd still be in the country for the Rostelecom Cup, so they could stop there on the way. "Alright, then. We'll be there. Thank you."

Throughout the week, this visit was all either of them could think about. During practice, Yuuri noticed he was a bit more absent-minded than usual. He noticed he was falling back on skills he was good at.

Victor, meanwhile, was talking about it a lot, much to Mila's amusement and Yurio's annoyance. Mila asked if it was a boy or a girl, and Victor said, "Girl. A little girl." He smiled to himself. "You know, you'd think because I grew up around girls, I'd be totally prepared, but.... I guess I don't know girls as well as I think."

"Or maybe it's because she's, you know, going to be your daughter. That's a big deal. It's normal to be nervous."

"I suppose you're right." His eyes lit up, and a big grin spread across his face. "I forgot to show you a picture of her! She's adorable!"

He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture he'd snapped of her file, at which she said, "Awwww, she _is_!"

Yuri groaned. "Little kids are demons. Don't waste your time."

Victor and Mila both laughed. Typical Yuri. "Well, I don't think this girl's a _demon,_ " said Mila.

"Oh, you don't know that."

More laughter.

Finally, on Saturday morning, they made the drive to the orphanage. Yuuri wasn't too happy about getting up so early, but he knew it would be worth it. All through the drive, he was thinking about it. His potential future daughter! What would she think of him? Would she like him? Would she trust him?

Sofia Alexandrovna smiled upon seeing the two. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Sofia Alexandrovna," they responded.

"I can lead you to her dormitory. It's just down the hall."

So she walked them down the hall to a room lined with white bunk beds. "This is for the youngest girls," she explained.

The room was empty, except for Irina, who sat at the foot of her bed. She was wearing a light blue dress. Instead of the ponytail from the last time they saw her, her hair was in braids, tied at the ends with white ribbons. She had an old-looking porcelain doll in her arms. She was swinging her legs, staring at the floor, and singing something to herself. As they pulled up a chair and sat closer to her, Victor realized he recognized the song. Suddenly, he was reminded of late nights sitting in front of the TV with his sisters Yekaterina and Xenia, struggling to stay awake, their mothers' arms around them. He smiled at the memory. Everything was simpler then.

"Hello, Irina," said Yuuri.

"Hello," she mumbled.

Hmmm.... now he had to think of a good conversation starter. He was never very good at talking to little kids. Then he pointed to the doll. "What's her name?"

"Masha."

He nodded. "What a beautiful name."

Victor joined in. "What do you like to do?"

"I draw pictures."

"Can I see one of yours?"

"Yes." Then she reached under her pillow and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a drawing of a family in black crayon. A mother, a father, and a little girl.

"It's pretty." He pointed to the girl in the picture. "Is that you?"

"I don't know."

"Well, could it be?"

The girl just looked down. Then the tears started rolling down her face. _Poor kid_ , thought Yuuri. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She just kept crying. Victor wasn't sure if it would work, but he had an idea. He started singing that song she'd been singing earlier. "Спят усталые игрушки, книжки спят. Одеяла и подушки ждут ребят."

She looked up, sniffled, and just watched this man sing. Who _was_ he? Then after a bit, she joined in. "Со слоненком подружиься и поймать перо жар-птицы. Глазки закрывай, Баю-бай."

She giggled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Then she waved her hands excitedly. Victor pulled some faces at her, and she laughed.

On the drive back to their hotel, Victor gushed over how _cute_ she was. "I think she's ours."

"Oh, I _know_ she is. But it's going to take a while for her to adjust."

He sighed. "That's true. She's been uprooted a lot."

"You've always been better with kids than me. Why is that?"

"Well, maybe it's because of my little sister."

Yuuri shrugged. "I guess you're right."

At five-thirty, Yuuri FaceTimed his mother to tell her how it was going. "We just need to file one more application, and she's our daughter!"

"Oh, Yuuri, I'm so _proud_ of you!" she gasped. "You're going to be a father! And I'm going to be a grandmother!"

"I know, it's exciting."

"One second, let me get your father." She walked off, yelling, "Toshiya! It's Yuuri!"

His father came into the frame. "Hi, Dad!"

"Hey, Yuuri." He sat down. "So tell us about this Irina girl."

"She's very sweet. Quiet, too, so not much trouble. But she strikes me as very nervous."

"Oh! Like you were."

Yuuri laughed. It was true. " _Dad_."

"I'm just saying, you two will be perfect together."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Everything's really coming together for you two," said his mother. "You're getting married soon, you'll have a _child_..... Wow, I can remember when you were a kid looking at pictures of figure skaters in those magazines of yours. And now you're starting a family with the man in those pictures!"

"Hey, even _I_ can't believe it at times."

His father yawned. "Well, Yuuri, it's very late here. Your mother and I are going to bed."

"Good night, Dad. Love you."

"Good night. I love you, too. And you better believe we're flying out there to meet our granddaughter!"

"Okay, see you then, Dad."

He sighed and hung up. Twisting the wedding ring on his finger, he thought for a while. It was happening. For real. Him as a _father_! Wow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that song Irina was singing is a pretty well-known Russian lullaby. The English translation of the title is "Tired Toys Are Sleeping".


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sappy cliche + a little bit of the parents' backstories. Enjoy!

Victor and Yuuri's wedding was a joyous occasion, held about a week after the Grand Prix Final. Yuuri thought it fitting that it happened after probably the most triumphant moment in his skating career. He'd stood on the podium, holding up the gold medal, feeling..... _accomplished._

The ceremony was in the ballroom of a hotel in Nagoya, Japan. Both grooms' parents made their way out there to see their sons get married. Victor's parents were exhausted from their thirteen-hour flight over there, but when they saw Yuuri's family in the airport, Viviana greeted them excitedly. The parents had met before, at their sons' engagement party back in January. But Viviana and Alexandra had not met Mari. "Mari Katsuki," she said. "Yuuri's sister. Pleased to meet you."

Yuuri had ordered a car to take the five of them to the hotel. On the way there, they talked. "You know," said Viviana. "When Victor and Yekaterina were little, we took them to see a ballet, and afterwards, they _begged_ us to let them learn to dance like that!"

Hiroko laughed a little. "It was a bit like that with Yuuri. One of our friends, Minako, used to dance professionally, and when he was four, she showed him a video of one of her performances. After that, he asked her to teach him to do that."

Toshiya nodded. "Yes, once, I saw him practicing the moves in the mirror. From that to gold medal at the Grand Prix Final......" He shook his head and laughed.

"Wait.... Minako...." muttered Alexandra. That name brought to mind the young Japanese girl with snapping black eyes she saw standing in line to audition all those years ago. "What was her last name?"

"Okukawa. Minako Okukawa," answered Hiroko.

"I know her. We both trained at the Bolshoi Academy. She's four years younger than me. I saw her audition when she was about nine, and I thought she was so talented, even then." It was true. She'd heard the judges comparing her to a swan. Of course, she didn't say that the year Minako started was the year that, when school let out for summer, Alexandra was told not to come back.

"Oh! You used to dance?"

"Yes." She gulped as she remembered her grueling ballet years, in Moscow, Perm, St. Petersburg. The pressure, the constant body-shaming, the strict diets. By the time she was fifteen, she was involuntarily scrutinizing other girls' bodies. She remembered how crestfallen she was when a doctor told her that, because of her years of mistreating her body, she might not be able to have children.

"Did you ever do it professionally?"

"For a few years, yes."

"She's being modest," said Viviana. "She danced with the Mariinsky Ballet!"

"Yes, and there's a reason I quit, dear."

After a bit, they started talking about the upcoming adoption. Both sets of soon-to-be grandparents expressed excitement at meeting their granddaughter. "Yes, I heard she's very sweet," said Mari. She sighed. "I can't wait to be an aunt."

* * *

There were quite a few people there already. Yuri Plisetsky was a groomsman, wearing a stiff tuxedo, as was Christophe. Nikolai Plisetsky, who'd come out there to see his grandson in the previous week's competition, decided to attend the wedding. Mila and Mari were bridesmaids, wearing matching lavender dresses. Phichit was Yuuri's best man. There were the Leroys, JJ and Isabella. Otabek attended, too, reluctantly. Then there was Xenia Nikiforova with her girlfriend. Xenia, now twenty-five, was an artist based in Volkhov. She was quiet and sweet, and had light brown hair and gray eyes. 

Yekaterina was there, too, with her husband. She was blonde, like her twin brother (except her hair wasn't _as_ light as his), with blue eyes, and a professional ballet dancer. When Victor saw her, he noticed she was pregnant. "Six months," she said, smiling and patting her belly. "You'll be an uncle _and_ a father."

"Boy or girl?"

"Boy. We're thinking of naming him after you."

He gasped. "What...."

She giggled. "Yes."

Yuuri and Victor had intended to combine traditions. So, as is typical of Shinto weddings, the first part of the ceremony entailed the _san-san-ku-do_ ritual, where they shared three cups of sake. Yuuri had been taught that this ritual represented the sharing of sorrows and joys between the couple. As he took the first cloying sip of rice wine, he looked at Victor. The love of his life, the man he'd shared so much with. He used to look up to him as a celebrity, believing they'd never really be together, but now here they were. They were going to raise children, grow old together. And as Hiroko watched her son perform the same ritual she and her husband had performed all those years ago, tears sprang to her eyes.

The minister officiating the wedding made the customary speech. Love is patient, love is kind.... blah, blah, blah..... If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace..... the like. Then Victor was the first to say his vows. "For years, I neglected two of the most important things: life and love. I believed that my skating career was more important and that if I worked hard enough on it, then I wouldn't even notice what I was lacking. But then I met you, and you showed me what I'd been missing. You showed me life and love, and that I could have those things _and_ a strong skating career. I will always be grateful to you for being what I need most in my life."

"Awwww," said the crowd. Yuuri was genuinely touched. And now it was _his_ turn to say his vows. "Now let's be honest here, marrying my celebrity crush wasn't exactly what I expected to be doing at this point in my life. But.... life is full of surprises. For example, two years ago, I left the Grand Prix Final in tears, thinking I was a failure and would never skate again. But I did! I made an amazing comeback, thanks to this man right here! And actually, when I met him, I realized there was more to him than the celebrity persona. He's sweet, he's kind, his energy is refreshing. He makes me so happy, every single day. So, yes, here I am, about to spend the rest of my life with my celebrity crush."

Then there was the ring exchange, and the minister said, "Yuuri Katsuki, do you take Victor Alexandrovich Nikiforov to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"Victor Alexandrovich Nikiforov, do you take Yuuri Katsuki to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do."

"You may kiss your husband."

They didn't need to be asked twice. They shared a passionate kiss, and their marriage was official.

In the time between the ceremony and the reception, Victor and Yuuri decided to take a walk around the city. Yuuri had been here before, once to visit a distant family member when he was seven and once for juniors when he was fifteen. For a while, they didn't say anything. They didn't need to. Then Yuuri broke the silence by saying, "Everything's coming together."

Victor smiled. "I know."

* * *

The reception that night was fun, too. The couple had their first dance, on the ballroom floor. Then, when everyone was seated for the meal, Hiroko (who was a little tipsy by then) made a toast to her son's marriage, and to the upcoming adoption. She actually moved herself to tears with her own speech.

Phichit made his best man speech, congratulating his friend, then saying, "In the old days, when we used to train together, Yuuri used to be a walking ball of nerves who wouldn't sleep. And here he is, a Grand Prix gold medalist, married to his celebrity crush, and _still_ a walking ball of nerves who won't sleep. Some things never change."

Laughter. Yuuri blushed, but even he had to laugh at that one, too.

Lots of dancing. At one point, Yuuri danced with his father. He smiled. "I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks, Dad."

The older man sighed. "I can remember when I married your mother."

"Oh, that was years ago. In, like, 1985."

"'86. But no matter how long ago it was, you never forget something like that." He smiled to himself. "You know, when I met your mother, she was with someone else."

"Oh? Who was it?" He'd heard this story many times before, but still, he loved hearing it.

"This man named Hanzo. I knew him from high school, and he was big and strong because he did a lot of sports in those days. So, anyway, I met your mother one day at a party, and we talked for a while. Then _he_ comes up to her, and she introduces him to me as her boyfriend."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, I didn't know what to do, because this girl was pretty, but I didn't want to cause any trouble with her boyfriend. So as she left the party, she told me we'd talk, and we did. Then a few months later, she came to my house and told me she'd found out he was seeing someone else behind her back."

"So what did you do next?"

"I let her in, and we sat together and talked for a while. And not long after that, we had our first kiss, and...."

"....the rest is history."

"Exactly." The song was ending, so they stopped swaying, and he pulled his son into a hug. "I hope your marriage is as happy as mine is."

"It will be. I know it."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Dad."

Three rounds of a karaoke contest, several glasses of champagne, a dance-off, and one case of drunken recklessness (on Toshiya's part- and here's a hint, it involved a great deal of broken glass and a rendition of "Unbreak My Heart") later, Victor and Yuuri went back to their hotel room, exhausted and happy. "Damn, we partied _hard_ ," said Victor.

"Well, what's not to celebrate?" He looked out a window at the night sky. "Hey, why waste this night on sleeping? Why don't we go out onto the balcony?"

"Alright." So they went out to the balcony and looked at the stars, and the skyline before them. There was so much behind them, and so much ahead of them, too.


	5. Chapter 5

When they returned to Russia, their next order of business was bringing Irina home. So they drove down to Tver once again, and Sofia Alexandrovna smiled and greeted them. When she saw that Yuuri was shivering, despite his many layers, she said, "Not used to Russian winter, are you?"

He laughed. "I'm still getting used to it."

"Well, lucky for you, I finally managed to get the heat to work today, so it should be warmer in the other rooms by now."

So they walked further into the building. When they arrived at the younger girls' dormitory, there were more girls in there this time, whispering among themselves or playing with toys. Irina sat on her bed, holding her doll, a bag at her feet. She must have been informed they were coming.

"Ira," said Sofia Alexandrovna.

The girl looked up and smiled a little at the two men. Yuuri smiled back and waved to her. "Meet your new parents," said the woman.

"Hello, Irina," said Victor.

She got up from her bed, still holding her doll, and picking up the bag. The other girls stopped what they were doing and watched. It was always a spectacle when somebody got a new family. Sofia Alexandrovna grabbed a light blue puffy jacket and a blue woolen hat from a nearby closet and gave them to Irina. "It's cold out, sweetheart. You want to stay warm, don't you?"

She put on the coat and hat. Then Sofia turned to Victor and Yuuri and said, "When she came here, she didn't have anything _remotely_ appropriate for this weather, so I bought her these. Aren't they cute?"

"Yes, very," said Yuuri. He was reminded of when he was four and his mother gave him a little blue hat with ducklings on it. It was his favorite, he remembered.

Sofia gave her a hug. "Goodbye, sweetheart. Be good to your new parents, alright?"

"Alright."

In the car, Irina was looking out the window almost the whole way. Trying to glimpse as much of the world as she could. The snow fell in little flakes, the type children like to catch on their tongues.

She was quiet most of the trip, until about three hours in, when she said, "I'm hungry."

"Well, there's food in here," said Yuuri, pointing to a bag up front. "Let's see.... there's dried fruit, cereal bars....." _Not a whole lot a kid would like_ , he thought. "Oh, do you like yogurt?"

She nodded. "Can I have it?"

"Sure, here you go," he said, passing her a cup of yogurt, a plastic spoon, and a napkin.

It was four-thirty and already getting dark when they arrived at their building. Once inside, Irina was looking at the gilded elevator door. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's an elevator," explained Victor. "It takes you up to the top of the building."

"Wow!"

Their apartment was on the fourth floor, so they didn't go to the top of the building. But the girl was still thrilled at getting to ride this thing, enjoying the lurch in her stomach as it went up. Yuuri smiled at her enthusiasm. It was going to be fun rediscovering the world with her.

After dinner, they watched TV with her, her favorite program, "Masha and the Bear". Finally, at around eight-thirty, probably tired from the day, she fell asleep, curling up against Victor. He reached out to rub her back. "Okay," said Yuuri. "I think it's about time she went to bed."

So they took her to her new room, and after getting her into her pajamas, they tucked her in. "Good night," said Yuuri, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead.

She hadn't been asleep for two hours, though, when they heard sobbing from her room. Alarmed, they both went in, to find her crying in her sleep. "Don't leave me!"

Yuuri sat at her side and whispered, "Sh, it's okay. You're just having a nightmare. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

After a bit, she woke up, still crying. Waking up in a setting that was still unfamiliar to her didn't help things much. Victor sat next to her, too, and held her. After a bit, she said, "You're not going to leave me, are you?"

"No, no," he murmured. "We're here."

Yuuri sang to her that night, until she fell asleep. The Takeda lullaby. His mother used to sing it to him when he was young. It never failed to calm him down, even when his worries kept him awake. And it seemed to have the same effect on Irina, because by the time he got to the last stanza, her eyes were starting to close.

* * *

About a week later, the whole family came to St. Petersburg to see her. It was her birthday, too, a day before Victor's, so they brought gifts. Mari brought one of Yuuri's old Pokemon plushies, Pikachu, to be exact. Irina, upon seeing it, squeezed it hard as ever. "Squishy," was all she said.

Yuuri and Victor had made a cake, with creamy white frosting and strawberries on top. As she blew out her candles, everyone clapped.

Irina took a liking to her new family members, even if she was a little shy of them at first. By the end of the day, she'd been passed from relative to relative and fawned over quite a bit, and now she was sitting in Hiroko's lap, wearing a gray cat-ear beanie her aunt Xenia had given her. Alexandra had had her try some of her favorite candy, _mishka kosolapy,_ and she quite liked it. 

The adults talked for a while, until Hiroko said, "Oh, I think Irina's asleep."

Sure enough, the little girl had fallen asleep in her lap, curled up like a cat. _Awww_ , thought Yuuri.

Next, they had to update her papers. Get rid of the patronymic and surname associated with the man who neglected her. So, after deciding what to replace them with, they went to the courthouse and changed her name to Irina Yurievna Nikiforova. Their daughter.

* * *

It took a while, but she began to adjust to her new home. She liked playing outside and exploring the city. One of her favorite places to go was Nevsky Prospect, especially at night. She'd watch the lights go on in the shop windows, and the headlights and taillights of the cars rushing by. Her favorite foods were blini and ramen. Mila, who babysat her sometimes, joked that if she ate too many blini, she'd turn into one.

She watched her parents at the rink quite a bit, admiring their graceful forms and how easy they made the whole thing look. When she went out onto the ice for the first time, she had to hold onto the edge of the rink, but gradually, with her parents' help, she was able to support herself.

Still, even if she was adjusting to her new life, she still had nightmares some nights. And she'd still feel sad for reasons she didn't know. But at least someone was there to comfort her.

After she turned six, her parents discussed enrolling her in school. After all, she was the right age. And there were some pretty good schools around here. Plus, she seemed pretty well-adjusted. So they talked to her about it. "After the summer's over, you're going to start going to school."

Irina had heard about school, but wasn't sure what it would be like. "Well, okay."

That summer, she was thinking about it. School, huh. With teachers and books and other kids. The older kids at the orphanage had gone to school. They all went there every morning in a big yellow bus.

One day, she thought about her birth parents. Their pale, pockmarked faces and lightly pulsing bodies. Her mother reaching under the dirty couch cushions for coins, her father sticking himself with a needle or breathing in smoke. How they'd act after pricking themselves or breathing in the smoke. When that happened, they were mean, mean, mean. She remembered their house, how, when her parents went out, she'd walk around, exploring. The fading wooden walls. The TV, with its perpetually black screen. The white kitchen, the sink she couldn't reach, the whole room slowly going from white to yellow. Her parents' bedroom, littered with pieces of brown glass and needles. It had a cloying, chemical smell that made her sick. The small, smudged window she'd look out of, waiting for her parents to return in their beaten car.

She'd seen so much more of the world in the last year and a half, more than that house, more than those two orphanages. But still, she just wanted to see that place again. See what it was like now. So one day, she asked her parents if she could go back there.

They were both taken aback by this request. _Why on earth would she want to go back to such a place?_ But still, Victor said, "Okay, then. You can see it one more time."

So one day, they took a day trip out there. The address was listed in her file, with the names of her birth parents and a now disconnected cell phone number. The place was in some tiny town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Vorotynets. It was a very long train trip down there, through big cities, small towns, and everywhere in between. The Russian countryside was beautiful in the summer. Rolling hills, green trees, they even passed by a field of yellow flowers at one point.

Finally, they arrived in Dzerzhinsk, a nearby city, and got a hotel room there, because it was very late. Still, Irina could hardly sleep. She couldn't describe how she felt about making this trip- scared? Excited? She didn't know.

The next morning, they boarded another train, to this town. Consulting a map on his phone, Yuuri was able to lead them to the house. It was dilapidated, the roof falling in, and there was a sign on the door that said, "Eviction Notice."

"Papa, what does 'eviction' mean?" She could already read very well.

"It's when the government makes you leave your house if you can't pay for it."

 _Maybe_ that's _why they left_ , she thought. _They had to._ Just then, she remembered hearing somebody banging on the door. Her birth parents had told her not to answer the door while they were gone, so she didn't, just sat there in silence. "Police! Open up!" they shouted.

She still didn't answer the door, and that was when she heard a key turning. It was a man in a suit holding the key, and two men in black uniforms barged in. One of them stooped down to meet her eyes and asked where her mama and papa were, and she just shook her head. He said something to the other officer, then addressed her again. "Well, we're going to find your mama and papa, but until we do, we're going to take you somewhere where there are a lot of nice people who want to take care of you."

"Will I see my mama and papa again?"

"Of course."

She shook the memory out of her head. "Well, I'm going to go in."

Victor was worried now. _What if there are needles in there still?!_ "Irishka, at least let us go with you."

"Okay."

So they went in. The place was smaller than she remembered, and dustier, too. In fact, the dust was so thick she could have choked on it. She looked at the living room. There was the black TV, the dirty gray couch. The carpet with brown splotches on it. There were dents in the walls from her parents' fighting. The yellow kitchen. There was still an empty beer bottle on the table. She could just barely reach the sink now. There were still shards of broken dishes on the floor. Her parents' room, still with its cloying smell. Yuuri held his nose. _Just what is that smell_? "My mama and papa used to sleep here," she explained.

Lastly, there was her room. A tiny bed with a thin blanket was the only furnishing. _How could she have slept here in the winter_? thought Victor. _It must have been freezing._ Irina remembered all the nights she spent in there, hiding and clutching Masha while her parents screamed and broke things. "I'm ready to leave now."

"Okay, let's go."

So they walked back to the train station and boarded the next train to Dzerzhinsk. That visit was rather disappointing. Now that she knew that the world was bigger than that house, she found it rather uninteresting. There was a world out there, with so much to see and do, that she couldn't believe she'd once been satisfied with just the tiny house!

As they packed up their things in their hotel room, Yuuri asked, "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"Everything!"

He laughed a little. This girl had so much enthusiasm for life, even after what she'd been through. There was so much about the world to enjoy, and she was ready for it all. _Keep living, keep loving, keep laughing_ , he thought. _You've got everything ahead of you._


End file.
